New York City in the rear view mirror.
By Kurt Jacobson
Another New York City Winter Trip
For the last four years, I’ve attended a January travel writer’s meeting in New York City (NYC). Winter is a great time to visit the Big Apple, and I always stay over a day or two to enjoy the city after the meeting. In winter, NYC is less crowded, hotel rates tend to be lower, and if the weather turns bad, there’s plenty to do indoors.
For this year’s trip, the Muse Hotel would be a perfect spot to reach most of the attractions, restaurants, and shows. My wife joined me on the fourth day in town, and we started our time together at the Hudson Yards. I had explored The Shops the day before and found an excellent place for pastries (Bouchon), and a new José Andrés restaurant venture called Mercado Little Spain.
A Second Lunch
I had lunch at Spanish Diner the day before inside Mercado and loved it enough to take my wife there. Bo, the bartender/waiter, took care of us at the counter. We started with the croquetas de pollo, thin-sliced Spanish ham, and the Squid and rice. The wines by the glass were affordable, we ordered the cask red and white for $10 each, and the meal was fantastic!
Spanish Diner squid and rice.
My wife had Arroz al la Cubana, their eggs and sausage breakfast item that was delicious and filling. I had the Bacalao frito con pisto, a hunk of fried cod on top of a ratatouille-like veggie mix that was a winner in my book.
After lunch, we explored The Shops at Hudson Yards a bit more and took a look at the Vessel before catching the #7 Subway to Times Square.
The Vessel from Equinox Hotel.
We dropped off my wife’s luggage at the Muse Hotel, picked up umbrellas as the rain had started in earnest and beat feet for Come From Away, a popular musical. The show detailed the events when 38 US-bound planes were ordered to land in tiny Gander, a town in Newfoundland on September 11th, 2001.
One of the Best Shows Ever
Of all the shows I’ve seen in 30 years of visiting New York, this was the best. The story is heartfelt and pure, showcasing the difficulty both townspeople and passengers faced. There was precious little information on what caused the emergency landing; the town struggled to feed, house, and console the passengers. I’m sure Come From Away will be playing for some time and highly recommend it.
After the show, we made our way through wet streets to Osteria al Doge, an Italian restaurant we had appetizers at five years ago and had wanted to try for dinner. Reservations are a must. I made reservations four weeks ahead of our visit, and was glad I did. Within minutes of being seated, the restaurant filled up.
The delicious bread basket and olives got us started. We then ordered wines-by-the-glass and took our time deciding on entrees. My wife had the linguine and clams, which was excellent, and I had eggplant ravioli. After a leisurely two-hour dinner, we headed for the MET for a bit of art love.
Osteria al Doge liguine and clams.
At my travel writer’s meeting, the rep for NYC City Pass gifted me two passes, and the MET was included in the booklet. Instead of taking the subway or taxi, we opted to walk. The rain had stopped, and it was pleasant enough to walk nearly two miles to the MET, Museum of Art. By the time we were walking along Central Park on Fifth Avenue, I had noticed there were few pedestrians at 7:30. I felt safe but still paid attention to my surroundings.
Inventions and Statues
We arrived at the museum and enjoyed our visit for an hour and a half. Visiting late as we did gave us a less-crowded experience. Viewing the exhibits was more relaxed and meaningful. We saw Making Marvels, Science and Splendor at the Courts of Europe that had many cutting-edge inventions from several hundred years ago. One of my favorite parts of the museum is the ancient sculpture hall and treasures from the new world.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
When closing time came, we decided to use our Metro Pass for a bus ride back to our hotel. We caught a bus that took us south on Fifth Avenue to a stop at 44th Street. From there, we had a short five-minute walk to the Muse Hotel. On the way back to the hotel, I pointed out one of the curbside marijuana shops on wheels I’d seen the day before. On most of my walks in the city I smelled pot smoke often, not that it bothered me, but it was quite prevalent.
Pot shop, Weed World on wheels NYC.
Time for a New York City Boat Ride
After a good long rest, we set out on Sunday morning to see the new museum on Liberty Island. Our City Pass covered the $19.25 ferry fee on the Circle Lines boat. The weather had cleared, and we headed to the Statue of Liberty under mostly clear blue skies. As we pulled out of the lower-Manhattan dock, the skyline of New York City and New Jersey appeared bigger than life, making for a good photo.
Circle Lines Statue of Liberty cruise.
On approach to Liberty Island, the clouds and sun played keep away, and I waited for the best light to capture a good photo. I had been to Liberty Island two summers ago for the first time and loved the visit. My wife had never been, and I was thrilled to take her there. We grabbed a free audio tour guide, a must, and headed to the museum. She walked the museum with the headphones on while I started with the ten-minute video shown on three screens.
From the museum, we walked around the base of the statue and marveled at this world-famous icon of liberty. During a gap in the clouds, I shot another photo of the lady then we headed for the ferry to get back in time for another meal at Mercado Little Spain.
Up close at the feet of Liberty.
What’s For Lunch
This time we opted for lunch at Mar, one of several choices in this Spanish-themed food hall. The Mercado was packed, and we were glad we had made reservations the day before as the wait at Mar was an hour! We had red shrimp and a rich seafood stew with clams, monkfish, and mussels. Although this was a good meal, for my money and taste, I’d sooner go back to the Spanish Diner for the comfort food and lower prices.
Mercado Little Spain.
With lunch over, we headed to the fifth floor to grab a croissant at Bouchon before catching the Megabus back to Baltimore. For our next New York City trip, we’d like to experience more of the Hudson Yards and the shops and restaurants. New businesses are opening this year, and we want to conduct further research. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2020 Kurt Jacobson
Kurt, you and your wife had quite a busy, fulfilling, and memorable visit to New York. Apparently, this is one of many visits, but you may be surprised that there are people who have lived in New York City for years, and have not been to these places you went, in this visit. Good adventuring. The more you go, the more you see.